


Nostalgia

by wilyasha



Series: Firewall [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Culture, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Love at First Sight, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-22 08:25:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11963526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wilyasha/pseuds/wilyasha
Summary: At night, Keith searches for Shiro. When he returns to base, he eats dinner with his parents, hearing their historical stories of Daibazaal and Marmora's fragile beginnings on Gal. One day, with his mother late, Keith questions his father on something a little more personal.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This entire series really diverges from the canon timeline and ventures into AU territory. This story in particular takes place just a few days before season three. 
> 
> Content Warnings: No content warnings, besides my own worldbuilding ideas and headcanons for Daibazaal's history.

“How did you meet Mom?” Keith asks, just as Thace has a utensil poised at his mouth, lips peeled back to take a chunk out of the flavorful red meat they’ve both come to love at the Marmora base.

“What?” Thace asks, momentarily bemused. It takes a lot to bewilder Thace, but no one manages to do it better than his wife, and now coincidentally, his son.

“You and Larka,” Keith says. “How did you two meet? You were a pilot, right? How does a cadet gain an audience with the Emperor’s heir?”

Thace chuffs, amused by Keith’s words. He places his utensil down on his plate and hastily takes a sip from his protein drink.

“Why the sudden interest?” Thace asks.

Keith shrugs, turning down to his meal. He’s eaten most of his meat, but there’s still a rather large pile of blue vegetables scraped to the side. He’s still not used to his new teeth. They’re too sharp and some fit together like shears. He’s bitten his tongue multiple times and it's whenever his food lacks consistency. That or he’s just craving meat. “We do these meals to get to know each other. I just thought this was something we could have, just the two of us.”

Thace’s gaze immediately softens, but he doesn’t move his hands, even though it’s clear to Keith that the Galran male wants to put a hand on his arm in comfort. Keith made his boundaries quite obvious when it came to his parents. He is the only one who can initiate affectionate contact, not until he’s fully used to this new body.

“You’re asking me how I fell in love with your mother?” Thace asks, blunt but soft.

Keith blushes, cheeks hot and flushed.

Thace leans back, looking out the observatory window.

“Well, let’s see, the first time I ever caught a glimpse of Larka was on the news frequency. I was a kit, but much, much younger than you. Zarkon was the Black Paladin at the time. I remember I was watching the news frequency with my mother and I saw Larka with her father. I believe he was taking her to Altea for the first time since she was a cub. Prince Lotor had just been born and he had to stay behind on Daibazaal with their mother. _Princess Larka’s first diplomatic meeting_ , they called it. She was a small thing, regal for a little kit,” he pauses, still staring out the window with a smile on his face. “But I knew the moment I saw her that I would devote my life to protecting her.”

“Just like that?” Keith asks, leaning forward. “You fell in love with her after seeing her on the television when you were a kid.”

Thace shrugs. “I was young. I wanted to prove myself useful to the Empire. I grew up in the backwoods area of the highland territory. Every kit born in the region was expected to join the Military. It had been a poor territory even before Zarkon became leader. I thought protecting the princess would be the most important career.”

“So you became her bodyguard?”

Thace laughs, a deep noise that makes Keith feel oddly happy. “No,” he says, finally. “As we grew older, I joined the pilot academy and she was studying law and language at one of the academies in Drule. But as heir apparent, she was required to give speeches at all military academies once a year on the Empress’ orders. Larka’s speech was beautiful. She spoke about Altea and her cousin and the importance of loyalty and devotion. She was breathtaking. And it wasn't just words, there were actions behind it. She and Allura helped bring aid and resources to worlds that were freed by Voltron. While the Legendary Defender helped those who needed protection, Allura and Larka created coalitions to make sure those planets stayed free.”

He is silent for only a moment.

“After the speech, I had to meet her, face-to-face. Just to publicly profess my loyalty to her and her position as heir apparent.”

“But…?” Keith prompts, genuinely interested, his plate pushed aside.

“She was being courted by another,” Thace says, a low intonation in his voice. He’s tense, his shoulders stiff. “She was being courted by some marine from the arctic territory.”

“He was huge, wasn’t he?” Keith asks, hiding his chuckles behind his hand.

Thace is laughing, too. After the smiles dwindle, he starts again. “I was skinny like you when I was your age. I didn’t get taller and broader until we started the Blades. By that time, your mother and Sendak had already—”

“Sendak!” Keith interrupts. “Larka was dating Sendak?!”

“Not of her own free will,” Thace says. “They were betrothed. He was Zarkon’s apprentice, tasked with rising up through the ranks to become Admiral of the entire Military. Zarkon spent more time with Sendak than with his own children. He would have only allowed her to marry someone of her rank, but—”

“She fell in love with you.”

A soft smile crosses Thace’s face. “It didn’t happen until the war with Altea. Once the planet was destroyed, your mother formed a group with Kolivan and myself included. She didn’t trust Sendak with the information and when he betrayed her regardless of their imminent marriage and sided with Lotor for his claim as heir apparent, she broke off their betrothal. So, things changed… for everyone.”

“What do you mean?”

“We all still believed in what Marmora could become, but we had to make do with limited resources, fewer recruits. You must understand, even though the Empire was terrible – overworking us, brainwashing us, implementing a caste system, using us to destroy Zarkon’s enemies – it was still leagues better than what it was like when the republic ruled before Zarkon’s coup. Poverty was rampant, disease was everywhere, the government was tearing us apart. That’s part of the reason many other kingdoms didn’t want a Galran as a paladin of Voltron, let alone the pilot of the Black Lion, but they were overruled and Zarkon _did_ prove himself to be a decent leader of the Legendary Defender. Yet we were a species that would have torn each other apart before standing together.”

“And that’s what Zarkon brought to the table. An allegiance for all the races on Daibazaal. The Galra were strong with the Empire, they were complacent under his leadership,” Keith says. “Sounds like the route the Galaxy Garrison is taking.”

Thace is quiet, almost grimacing as he mulls over his next words.

“You asked me how I fell in love with your mother,” he starts. “She was everything that Daibazaal needed. She saw the good in our people, she spoke of loyalty and love and devotion. She publicly voiced her discontent with Zarkon’s actions on Altea, struggled to create Marmora even with her brother and betrothed breathing down her neck. Larka never gave up, not once. She loved so easily and freely. She wanted the best for our people. And when she turned to me for affection and friendship, I felt like the Ancients had given me a gift.”

“And what happened after that?”

“Well, we had a private ceremony, married each other, and had you,” Thace pauses, before reaching across the table – and damn the rule, he places a large mauve hand on his son’s lavender one. “Kythel, you have to understand. You were the best thing that ever happened to your mother and me. We’re so proud of what and who you have become.”

He feels a ball of white heat in his throat and he wants to swallow around it. Slowly, Keith rotates his wrist so he’s holding his father’s hand, nodding into his plate. “Thank you.”

There’s a clatter at the door as it slides open and Thace releases Keith’s hand. Larka walks in, cheeks flushed as if she raced to the observatory. 

“Did the two of you eat already?” she asks, nearly gliding over to the table to take her seat and open her warmed dinner tray.

“Obviously,” Keith mutters.

Larka ignores his jibe, settling her eyes on her food.

“What did Allura want?” Keith asks.

“She and I were discussing with Hunk about how to approach the Balmera. It will be my first public display of leadership in nineteen deca-phoebs. Allura wants me to show allegiance to Balmera first.”

“Won’t it be bad if Lotor and the Empire hear that you’re helping other planets?” Keith asks, concerned.

“Well, that’s the point. Let them know I’m still here. And that Allura and I are once again standing together,” she pauses, turning to her husband. “Did you know Hunk’s mate is a Balmeran maiden? Isn’t that beautiful?” She turns back to her son, “Kythel, tell me how they met.”


	2. Chapter 2

The collar of his uniform is digging into his neck and he readjusts it for the tenth time that morning. 

“You need to stop fidgeting,” Ulaz says lazily, scrolling through his tablet with his index finger pressed to the screen. “You’re going to pull out a patch of fur.”

Thace rolls his eyes, smoothing out the shoulder pads of his uniform flight suit. “It’s not like you’re helping.”

Ulaz sighs, placing the tablet on the couch before standing. “Come here.”

Thace drags his feet as he walks to his friend. He tilts his head back as Ulaz’s slender digits readjust the uniform’s collar. He manages to get the thick fur to press flat. Thace’s ears twitch in agitation when he hears Ulaz mutter under his breath, _When was the last time you preened your coat properly?_

“I know you don’t want to go to your graduation ceremony,” Ulaz starts, “but your dam wants me to record it.” 

“How do you talk to him more than I do?”

“Maybe you should pick up your feeds more often,” Ulaz scoffs, shaking his head and flopping himself back on the couch. Thace shoots him a sideways glance. “I jest, I jest. But you do have three parents. How come none of them are coming to the ceremony anyways?”

Even though Ulaz has done a good job flattening the patch of fur beneath his uniform, he can’t help but stare at his neck in the nearest mirror. Scrutinizing for any blemish or patch. Thace shrugs. “My dam is in the farming unit. With the soil all dried up in the region, the crops have done so, too. And the earthquakes aren’t helping either. The farmers are having a meeting on how to approach the Emperor about the problem.”

“And your mother and sire? They can’t show up?”

“Sire is serving at an outpost, nearby the rift. He can’t come to the graduation and my mother is taking care of my grandparents,” Thace explains, straightening out the uniform before starting the time-consuming task of putting on his armor. 

Ulaz chuffs in understanding. “Well, are you excited at least? What are you going to do after?” Ulaz is always eager to hear what older students are planning. He has one more year to go at the academy in Drule where he studies science and technology. He likes to blabber on about the complicated aspects of alchemical biotechnology. It can get annoying, but Thace enjoys seeing his friend light up when he talks about elemental properties and bionics.

Thace shrugs. He feels like he’s doing a lot of that lately. Eighteen deca-phoebs old and he still doesn’t know what he wants to do. Serve in the military until he gets too old to fight for the Emperor seems like the most pragmatic career choice. Even with Voltron fighting the larger threats, tensions between Pollux and Daibazaal are at an all-time high. The possibility of what the rift can contain being in Galran and Altean hands has exacerbated that tension. Thace will most likely be sent to deal with the Polluxi along with other military officers. He will probably die fighting the Polluxi on some foreign planet far from his parents and friends.

“I thought about teaching…” he says, resigning himself to the safety of a lecture hall and a controlled airfield. 

Ulaz’s brows raise. “Since when do you want to teach snot-nosed cadets?”

Thace shrugs again.

“You know _she_ is going to be at the graduation ceremony,” Ulaz comments.

Thace narrows his eyes. “What are you insinuating?”

Ulaz has the audacity to laugh at him. “You know… the Emperor’s daughter, Princess Larka. She’s giving your commencement speech. I thought that would be fairly obvious, seeing as she does these events every deca-phoeb.”

Thace is quiet for a moment and then Ulaz laughs again.

“I guess you want to go to your graduation now.”

\--

She’s dressed in a dark gossamer robe that many of the upper echelon wear. It reminds him of the cold rivers rushing down the mountains back home. The armor beneath the dusky cloth is more suited to that of Altean royalty, white glossy armor with a pale violet coloring on her breastplate, alluding to the fact that she may have just returned from a trip abroad. Her hair is pinned behind her ears, swirling into a low braid that drapes across one shoulder.

His heart beats wildly beneath his chest and his throat runs dry. She’s beautiful, standing beneath the low lights of the academy’s attendance hall arena. It’s dizzying, how focused he is on the figure before them all. 

“You know,” she begins, her voice soft. A warmth settles in his chest at the sound. “It’s always been so strange for me. Attending commencement speeches for academies that I would never attend.” There’s a sense of hesitancy in the crowd as they murmur, whispering through the hall. Her words aren’t normal for a commencement speech, more self-deprecating than usual. But he can’t look away.

“When I was eleven,” she continues, “I began attending these ceremonies, giving speeches for those of you who were deca-phoebs older than me. But now as I am older, it feels even stranger for me. I’ll be graduating next year, in the same position as you are right now.” She pauses. “The Emperor will be demanding… no, _asking_ you to lay down your lives for your people. For Daibazaal.”

She goes on: about Altea and about her mother’s family on that foreign shining globe. When he was old enough to understand the adults around him, he remembered the discussions about how the Emperor married a foreigner, his best friend’s sister from another world. There were members of the Galra species that weren’t too happy about that, but that didn’t stop the hybrid princess from voicing her thoughts today. Her eyes light up when she speaks about Voltron, about her father who guides his teammates with a helpful hand and a clear head. She wishes for them all to pledge their loyalty to her father, a man who would sacrifice his life by bringing aid and resources and freedom to distant worlds alongside his fellow paladins. 

With her gentle words and soft intonations, it is abundantly clear to Thace that Princess Larka is utterly devoted to her father, to his legacy. Thace vows that he will do everything in his power to protect that legacy.

\--

“You know this is lunacy?” Ulaz asks, nearly speed-walking to keep up with Thace.

He ignores him, determined to just catch one more glimpse of the princess before she leaves. What harm could it do to just briefly catch her gaze? It wouldn’t hurt to say something, right? _I loved your speech. It was beautiful. You’re beautiful._ And then he would be promptly removed by her guards and shoved into cell until his scheduled disciplinary hearing. His friends would have a good laugh at his expense. Thace knows he should be rethinking this, at the least just listening to Ulaz would probably be beneficial. But when has he ever listened to Ulaz…

“Did you hear me?”

“Yes, yes,” Thace says, breathlessly. He’s been shoving through the throng of his fellow recent graduates just to edge closer to the dais where he last saw the princess. She had been speaking to a few of the flight instructors, her fingers anxiously playing with the length of her braid. Thace shakes his head. He’s never been this aggressive in his tactics to speak with anyone.

He hears Ulaz chuff behind him, probably getting ready to pull him out of the hall and to the nearest underground tram station headed for his dormitory at the barracks. But Thace is the one who halts in his steps as his world shifts on his axis. Ulaz bumps into him, suddenly, with a low _humph_. 

Thace’s belly aches as he catches that glimpse of her near the doorway. She smiles and giggles at something the superintendent, an old wizened commander, says. To her left is her own academy’s chancellor, a reptilian-looking female Galra with a tightly coiled braid down the back of her head. The person to her right makes his stomach drop. A marine – by the appearance of his armor regalia – stands beside her, huge and daunting with large ears and a scowling face. She looks so slight at his side and Thace immediately recognizes him as her betrothed. His stomach roils, his hands clenching into fists. He knows that she is promised to another, but he didn’t intend to see that imposing figure today. 

By the luck of some Ancient smiling down on him, as if sensing watchful eyes upon her, her gaze flicks up to his. Yellow sclerae and shining red-gold irises. Her sharp eyes are startling, but the tension in his body bleeds away at the sight of her forgiving smile heading his way, a bashful look that he can only return with flushed cheeks. 

But it’s short-lived as one of the marine’s large hands falls on her shoulder. The brief joy drains from her face. She is quickly guided from the hall by her betrothed who hasn’t even noticed that he’s exhausted the princess with his blistering presence. The staggering thought that the princess may be unhappy with her betrothed surfaces in his mind.

“Are you happy now, Thace? You saw her,” Ulaz says pointedly. “Now can we go eat? I’m starving and I want to send this footage to your dam when we get back to your dorm.”

Thace is still rooted in his spot, staring at the doorway Princess Larka just disappeared through. 

“Hey, friend,” Ulaz shakes Thace’s shoulder. “Please don’t tell me you’re that love-struck. If you saw her every quintant at your campus, you would not be like this…”

“You see her _every_ quintant?” Thace asks, whirling around on his friend. 

Ulaz’s eyes widen at the look on his friend's face. “Only when I have classes,” he warbles. “Listen, I’m sure that if you end up teaching in Drule at the base, you’ll eventually stumble upon her at some point.”

Ulaz pulls his flailing, gasping friend from the hall just to get his late lunch at the nearest kiosk. That night as Ulaz crashes on his friend’s couch, he watches as the pilot graduate fills out every job opening application in Drule with a smile on his face.


End file.
